Laura McLean — From the Ground Up: Paradise in need of protection

Sunday

Apr 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM

On this day of the year I am thinking about paradise. The original Eden, depicted in Genesis and detailed in numerous Renaissance paintings; the one I will reinvent with my spade at home; the one I just visited on the Italian Riviera. And more specifically, I am thinking of the collective paradise that is our sanctuary, our sustenance: Earth.

On this day of the year I am thinking about paradise. The original Eden, depicted in Genesis and detailed in numerous Renaissance paintings; the one I will reinvent with my spade at home; the one I just visited on the Italian Riviera. And more specifically, I am thinking of the collective paradise that is our sanctuary, our sustenance: Earth.

I wonder how many others are sharing that thought in the wake of recent threats to destroy it? How many consider that Earth is the most important inheritance we get or give. It belongs to each of us, begets us and receives us when we come full cycle. Its health, wealth and beauty is our health, wealth and beauty. Perhaps if more people took this under consideration, it would be more true to that ideal of paradise.

It's kind of hard to have a bright, chirpy outlook on such matters when madmen are ready to push a button that would send missiles to obliterate pieces of our planet. I, along with the rest of the sane members of humankind, struggle with this. And don't think the younger generations, however self-focused, are oblivious either.

"Mrs. McLean, did you hear about Korea?" a ninth grader queried me anxiously, as class was about to start last week. Oddly, because I'd missed the headline news that day, I hadn't heard of North Korea's most recent threats, although I was aware of the dictator who is a basic punk. My response to my student was rather lame in retrospect. "Are you talking about gangnam style?"

And then I learned the news of the apocalyptical threats of newly fledged North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Detailed by a 14-year-old, you can't help wonder how they are taking it? Does it make them more fearful? Hardened? Perplexed?

Coincidentally, we are reading the novel "Lord of the Flies" of which a major theme is man as a destructive force to nature. The first incident consists of the crash of a plane in the pristine jungle of an uninhabited island. Students are to understand the symbol of the "scar" as meaning human interference in the natural order. William Golding, the author, wrote it some 59 years ago, protesting war and it's still applicable in the lesson it teaches about the ugly realities of human nature.

All I can do as a teacher and a writer is to mobilize listeners to be kind and gentle — with each other and our world. Today's lesson — whether you're 14 or old enough to know better — is to think about what you can do to help Earth, beginning today and for all days. Think of it as the first day of the rest of our planet's life!

Today marks the 43rd Earth Day — put on your bare feet and celebrate! Spring is fleeting and we need the time to revel in it. Earth day is a good way to celebrate it.

The first Earth Day was March 21 1970, as designated by Joseph I. Alioto, then mayor of San Francisco. His proclamation would serve to remind people of their rights to the use of "this global home and at the same time the equal responsibility of each person to preserve and improve the Earth and the quality of life thereon."

This day was designated as a special day to remember Earth's tender seedlings of life and people; a day for planting trees and flowers; a day for cleaning streams and wooded glens. Earth Day encourages mutual respect for Earth and all its people and is rooted in the idea that everyone worldwide join in the nurturing of the planet.

The following suggestions show you care:

Move thoughtfully and protect the web of life that surrounds our globe and is our life-support system. Know that the air and water that circulates around the planet circulates through us. Check your job out and see if it aids life more than it destroys. Study advertisements and reject projects that waste or pollute. Share cars, newspapers, whatever you can. Recycle paper, metals, glass, plastics. Repair and file away what you no longer need. Conserve, insulate your home, build for good ventilation. Use your hands. Learn how a person treats the Earth before you vote for him or her. Rejoice in human energy. Use your legs. Grow some of your own food.

Spring repeats the cycle of rebirth and renewal and, as such, coincides with numerous construction projects, small and large. Whether it's renovating a deck in your backyard, building a pier into the harbor or a full-out subdivision, one needs to consider the inherent changes these will bring to local ecosystems. We need to keep things intact and in balance. Because what point would there be if we had no paradise to observe and enjoy from these man-driven, man-made observatories. Keep Earth close to your heart, as tenderly as you would a loved one. It depends upon us as we depend upon it!

Tree has staked its claim, anchoring itself firmly to Earth.

Tree owns this place on the universe.

Within this space, all belongs to Tree—

Turf, shaft of air, even slices of sun.

Tree will not step aside from anyone.

Tree stands its ground.

When you meet Tree,

You must go around.

— Tree's Place by Kristine O'Connell

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